House Democrats: Free Border Crossers into U.S. to Stop Coronavirus Spread in Foreign Countries

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John Moore/Getty Images

JOHN BINDER

25 Feb 2021875

3:33

House Democrats are urging President Joe Biden to end migration controls at the United States-Mexico border to help slow the Chinese coronavirus in foreign countries.

In March 2020, former President Trump imposed a CDC order known as Title 42 that allows federal immigration officials to quickly return border crossers to their native countries to prevent adding to the current public health emergency in the U.S. 

Nearly 460,000 border crossers have been expelled and deported from the U.S. since March 2020 thanks to Title 42. In the last four months, alone, between 62,000 to 65,000 border crossers have been expelled and deported monthly under Title 42.

A group of 61 House Democrats, though, are asking Biden to end Title 42 — arguing that the U.S. is contributing to the global spread of the coronavirus by deporting border crossers to their native countries. Instead, the House Democrats say, the border crossers should be “safely” processed and released into the U.S. interior.

“At a time when travel is restricted worldwide, and we are observing the emergence of multiple alarming COVID-19 variants, continued expulsions and deportations threaten to export the virus to already vulnerable nations,” the House Democrats write to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Leading public health experts have repeatedly made clear that by employing sensible, science-based public health measures the United States can safeguard public health and safely process people seeking protection at our border,” the letter continues. 

Weeks ago, 52 House Republicans wrote to Mayorkas warning him that Title 42 is the only migration control keeping the southern border from experiencing record surges of illegal immigration after Biden ended the Remain in Mexico policy and cooperative asylum agreements with Central America.

“Notably, the Trump administration’s policy to use [Title 42] is perhaps now the only policy ensuring the southern border is not immediately rushed … if title 42 is indeed rescinded, the daily illegal flow will become catastrophic overnight,” the House Republicans wrote. 

As Breitbart News reported, the Biden administration is slowly releasing about 25,600 migrants enrolled in the Remain in Mexico program into the U.S. interior. Those migrants are being released into San Diego, California, and El Paso and Brownsville, Texas.

Border crossers not enrolled in Remain in Mexico do not have to undergo coronavirus tests and many do not have to adhere to quarantine requirements. In the first ten days of February, DHS has released at least 2,000 border crossers into the U.S. interior. For comparison, in December 2020 before Remain in Mexico was ended, DHS had released just 11 border crossers.

Ending migration controls is at odds with the majority of American voters. In exit polling following the 2020 presidential election, about 5-in-6 voters said closed U.S. borders were vital to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/25/house-democrats-free-border-crossers-into-u-s-to-stop-coronavirus-spread-in-foreign-countries/